New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Naxos) - The Recording Academy honored Naxos recording artists today with 11 Grammy Award nominations, the most of any classical music label this year.
The much-acclaimed recording of Joan Tower's Made in America featuring conductor Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, produced by Tim Handley, earned three nominations including Best Classical Album (award to Artists and Producer), Best Orchestral Performance (award to Conductor and Orchestra) and Best Classical Contemporary Composition (Award to Composer). Made in America began as an attempt by 65 small orchestras from around the United States to pool their resources to commission a new work by a major American composer. With the help of the American Symphony Orchestra League, Meet The Composer, and Ford Motor Company Fund, it became the phenomenon known as Ford Made in America, a project that brought Tower's piece to towns nationwide.
Additionally, conductor-composer Jose Serebrier and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra earned a Best Orchestral Performance nomination for their Naxos recording of Shostakovich's The Golden Age.
Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly took home a nomination for Best Classical Vocal Performance for the Naxos recording of Elgar's Sea Pictures, Op. 37 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Simon Wright, conductor. A Best Choral Performance nomination went to chorus master Henryk Wojnarowski and conductor Antoni Wit for the Naxos recording of Penderecki's Symphony No. 7 "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.
Performers on two separate Naxos recordings are up for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance without Orchestra: Anastasia Khitruk for her performance of the Miklos Rozsa Violin Concerto, Op. 24, (Dimitry Yablonsky, conductor; Russian Philharmonic Orchestra); and pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti for her recording titled 20th Century Piano Sonatas.
In the Best Small Ensemble Performance category the Swiss Baroque Soloists received a nomination for the Naxos recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.
Blanton Alspaugh was nominated for Classical Producer of the Year for his work on the Naxos recording of Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good, and producers Marina A. Ledin and Victor Ledin were nominated for their work on 20th Century Piano Sonatas (Allison Brewster Franzetti, piano).
Naxos Of America Distributed Label Artists Nominated For Grammys
Conductors Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs earned a Best Opera Performance nomination for the CPO recording of Jean Baptiste Lully's Thesee with the Boston Early Music Festival.
Violinist James Ehnes earned a nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for his CBC Records recording of Violin Concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton with Bramwell Tovey conducting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Spanish composer Joan Albert Amargos earned a nomination in the category of Best Classical Contemporary Composition for Northern Concerto, featured on the Michala Petri recording Movements from the label OUR Music.
The Recordings - Naxos
Best Classical Album
Best Orchestral Performance
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Joan Tower: Made in America; Tambor; Concerto for Orchestra
Nashville Symphony, Leonard Slatkin
8559328 (636943932827)
Best Orchestral Performance
Shostakovich: The Golden Age (Complete Ballet)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Jose Serebrier
8570217-18 (747313021772)
Best Instrumental Soloist(S) Performance (With Orchestra)
Miklos Rozsa: Violin Concerto, Opus 24; Sinfonia Concertante, Opus 29
Anastasia Khitruk, violin;
Andrey Tchekmazov, cello; Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky
8570350 (747313035076)
Best Instrumental Soloist(S) Performance (Without Orchestra)
20th Century Piano Sonatas
Allison Brewster Franzetti, piano
8570401 (747313040179)
Best Classical Vocal Performance
Edward Elgar: Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Simon Wright, conductor
8557710 (747313271023)
Best Choral Performance
Krzysztof Penderecki: Symphony No. 7 "Seven Gates of Jerusalem"
Warsaw National Philharmonic and Choir; Antoni Wit, conductor
8557766 (747313276622)
Best Small Ensemble Performance
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
Swiss Baroque Soloists
8557755-56 (747313275526)
Producer Of The Year
Blanton Alspaugh: Stephen Hartke: The Greater Good (8669014-15) 730099691420
Marina A. Ledin and Victor Ledin: 20th Century Piano Sonatas (Allison Brewster Franzetti) (8570401) 747313040179
CPO
Best Opera Performance
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Thesee
Orchestra and Chorus of the Boston Early Music Festival
Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs
CPO 777240-2 (761203724024)
CBC
Best Instrumental Soloist(S) Performance (With Orchestra)
Barber/Walton/Korngold Violin Concertos
James Ehnes, violin; Vancouver Symphony, Bramwell Tovey, conductor
SMCD5241 (059582524121)
Our Music
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Movements
Joan Albert Amargos: Northern Concerto
Michala Petri, recorders
6220531 (747313153169)
